Sometimes one manuscript appraisal isn’t enough to give an author the information they need to fully refine their work. This happens when there are more issues than those at the structural level of plot, characterisation, pacing, dialogue and so on – see my Editing Services page for more information. In this instance one appraisal simply can’t cover all the points an author can be made aware of, due to the necessity to deal with the big elements first. There is only so much information an author can work with at one time.
For this reason, I sometimes suggest to an author who brings a manuscript back to me after they’ve worked on it in light of my appraisal that they do a second appraisal. And when that happens, a colleage called Charles Ray, part of the AIA Publishing team, does the job. In this case, I look at the big picture and Charles, as well as making sure that the big picture elements are now in place and that my advice has been taken on board, looks at the next level. If you can follow his suggestions, it can save you money on the editing process.
I thought I’d share with you this lovely email I received from one of my clients who went through this process.
‘I am thoroughly pleased with the products you and Charles have provided me. So far, the process has exceeded my expectations, and I am grateful. He gave me (as you did) solid, tangible, and objective recommendations that I could use to revise my manuscript. They were written in a constructive way that I was able to see my errors rather than feel defensive or threatened. More importantly, they were written in a way to help me change the poor habits I had developed in my writing (head hopping, POV perspectives, information dumping, purple prose, etc.)’
Gary Kreigh, author.
